Plans for the Great Keppel Island resort were approved by the Queensland state government after seven years of negotiations and discussion. It will be the first new resort development in the Great Barrier Reef region for 20 years.

It is hoped that the new resort will kick-start the Australian tourism industry, which has suffered in recent years from overseas competitors like Thailand, Indonesia and Fiji.

Alongside the golf course, the resort will feature a 250-room international hotel, a world-class marina, an airstrip and a ferry terminal.

A statement from the GKI Revitalisation Plan forecast that the project could ‘generate AUS$150 million each year into the Central Queensland economy,’ and after receiving the go-ahead from the authorities, there are high hopes that the resort will give the region a much needed financial boost.

Greg Norman Golf Course Design's Jason McCoy has been named the project architect. The company has a rich history of creating prestigious courses globally, and has 70 courses across six continents in its repertoire, including the Doonberg Golf Club in Ireland and the National Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. It has previously been awarded the Audubon Society Award for Environmental Stewardship, giving the company great credentials for working in a location of such environmental precedence.

Greg Norman Golf Course Design will work collaboratively with the GKI Resort and WATG, a world-leading hospitality, leisure and entertainment design company.

Following this significant step in receiving state-government approval, the project must await the approval of the Federal government. If sanctioned, work is expected to start in 2015.